Christmas Truce WWI: The Real Story Behind 1914's Most Famous Event | History Hit

The Christmas Truce of 1914 was not only one of WWI's most famous moments, but one of history's also. A widespread ceasefire along different parts of the front, it saw men coming out of their trenches to meet and share stories and souvenirs, bury their dead with dignity, and even play a game of football.
In this one off special from History Hit we see the true story behind these truces and how they really happened.
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[@PeterMartyrVermigli_is_cool]

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. -(John 3:16)

[@BLACKWOLF1REDEYES]

ww1 end with a draw

[@guillerbrady9261]

My great grandfather survived the entire War. He had a watch and Spiked Helmet a German Soldier gave him during the Christmas Miracle in No Man's Land. He would always keep a candle on next to them. It's one of the few things he was willing to talk about. But I will always remember he would have nightmares every night and sometimes wake-up screaming, but he would never say what. A Generation of Heroes on all sides.

[@timothyberg7081]

Gott mit uns.

[@johnboehmer6683]

WOW... A German soldier gave his helmet away?? Truly this Christmas truce was by no means a natural, meager, or ordinary thing. By no means just some army regulars looking for a day off, as the "experts" from the video believe. For a soldier to be willing to give away a watch, and especially a helmet, shows that these soldiers were struck by the same powerful Spirit of God, love, peace, and goodness that makes this happening so overwhelmingly powerful to all of us today who learn about it.

[@PeterMartyrVermigli_is_cool]

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. -(John 3:16)

[@PeterMartyrVermigli_is_cool]

@@timothyberg7081🦾

[@PeterMartyrVermigli_is_cool]

@@johnboehmer6683🐝

[@Forest_Pawzz2014]

The saddest thing about this is in another time, they could've been friends 😔

[@TheTryingDutchman]

This documentary should be shown at all high schools.

[@r.b.l.5841]

My grandfather was there. In 1980 he told me himself, and said ' never let anyone ever tell ya it didn't happen, cause it did I was there. My Grandfather was an artillery captain, he came home in 1918.

[@danieltown2471]

This was when humans were truly in touch with each other seeing this truly gives me hope for the human race. Merry Christmas everyone!!!!

[@leodesalis5915]

Sad to think the hatred was too ingrained by the next year for this to happen again, the horrors of the first world war hadn't truly come to being, gas hadn't been used yet, the horrendous constant artillery bombardments destroying their minds not yet taken its effect and years of seeing friend and foe die in the worst ways not yet experienced, by 1915 people didn't see their enemy as humans anymore.

[@jordonsky]

@@leodesalis5915 propaganda

[@leodesalis5915]

@@jordonsky propaganda Is only as effective as the people of a society, if enough people fall for the propaganda then they start to enforce said propaganda socially and culturally, were all exposed to propaganda everyday of our lives just most people don't fall for it

[@richardpotter6313]

@@leodesalis5915 ...like now 😥

[@leodesalis5915]

@@richardpotter6313 unfortunately so.

[@dschoene57]

try watching this without breaking out in tears...

[@brianswelding]

I love how excited and passionate the one historian, Peter Hart is.

[@dongadson1099]

As we get older, we let go of those passions and innocent vibes we had when we're kids. You can tell that this guy didn't. I remember seeing as interview of an European senior citizen, I think he was Brit, but he was going on about how as adults, we should never let that innocence and passion go as we get older.

[@brianswelding]

@@dongadson1099 Absolutely right!

[@cincoboy3214]

Timeline's historians knock it out of the park every time. The passion these people have for the subject matter makes these documentaries top notch and really immerses you into the past. Love love love it

[@PeterMartyrVermigli_is_cool]

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. -(John 3:16)

[@blues01clue]

This has always been one of my favorite stories from the world wars.

[@trajik78]

Shows the absurdity of war and how the small die for the powerful. Moving moment indeed.

[@premierhoner614]

I'm a person who loves history. The First World War will always fascinates me the most. Not that I like war. No, I did my two years Nationale Service here in South Africa in 86/87 and some army camps there after. So I know what war is. But the way the first world war was to the men of the time. It's with deep sadness to see and learn what those people had to endure.. I salute all of them. Thank you for your curige and heroism......

[@piercepayumo4212]

And today we're all brothers Tonight we're all friends A moment of peace in a war that never ends Today we're all brothers We drink and unite Now Christmas has arrived and the snow turns the ground white Hear carols from the trenches We sing O Holy Night Our guns laid to rest among snowflakes A Christmas in the trenches A Christmas on the front far from home

[@cianmerluccio2057]

Nice sabathon

[@PeterMartyrVermigli_is_cool]

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. -(John 3:16)

[@PeterMartyrVermigli_is_cool]

@@cianmerluccio2057🐊

[@PeterMartyrVermigli_is_cool]

@@idontthinkso2861🦕

[@johnboehmer6683]

The fact that this happened spontaneously, yet in many different areas of which one group did not know the other was doing it tells you that God, for whatever purpose, was orchestrating this. For thousands of men to all be willing to honor this truce, and the vast majority to be willing to partake in the pleasant exchanges face to face is miraculous. If it was just in one specific battle group in one specific area, it would just be merely amazing, but no. That it never happened before or since (yet all over the place on this particular Christmas) says it all.

[@braydenj1327]

Could you ask the sky daddy why he caused the war?

[@johnboehmer6683]

@@braydenj1327 Why bother? Anybody can tell you what started WWl, and even the most moronic atheist knows it wasn't God, or even man-made religion...

[@hangzhang1877]

On December 24, 1914, German soldiers stationed in the Ypres area began to decorate their trenches, using whatever they could find around them. But even so, they still succeeded in erecting a Christmas tree and lit candles around it. Under the candlelight, the bullet casings hanging on the Christmas tree shone brightly, while the British soldiers on the opposite side were looking over. That night Christmas carols sounded in the German trenches, and the British troops did not lag behind and sang carols as well. Although the language and rhythm were different, soldiers on both sides could feel the "neighbors"' desire for peace and their longing for their relatives in their hometown. It didn't take long for the soldiers to realize that amid the incongruous singing and the blessings of their distant family members, the sound of gunfire disappeared.

[@robertkorsberg18]

A good movie on this topic. "Joyeux Noel." Totally worth a watch.

[@samwhitehall8545]

As an English man, Hamburg is my favourite city in the world and the guy who mentions the cultural similarities is 100% right. Top notch Documentary though.

[@GermanicWorldOrder]

The great Saxon city!🇩🇪

[@nightruler666]

A Christmas on the frontline We walk among our friends We don't think about tomorrow The battle will commence When we celebrated Christmas We thought about our friends Those who never made it home When the battle had commenced

[@dominickmicale5413]

Excellent doc. Happy holidays to all my mates across the world. From USA 🇺🇸

[@SonofDireness]

merry christmas everyone

[@anniechrisbendy6000]

I,m proud of my soldiers🇬🇧........and i,m proud of my german brothers .... no politicians or generals 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏good christians both. NEVER FORGET IT

[@janewagner1601]

Bless these humans who succumbed to being human x

[@shantanusapru]

*Excellent* video!! Very informative, timely/relevant & just the right tugging-at-the-heartstrings vibe...!

[@mcmxli-by1tj]

"It's them that's up above, mother, it's them that sits and rules; We've got to fight the wars they make, it's us as are the fools. . . ." Robert W. Service

[@robertdarcy2168]

"FANTASTIC" An Appreciative Raptor Rob 👍

[@benjaminrapp7418]

This reminds me other stories such as that of 2nd Lt. Charlie Brown and Oberleutnant Franz Stigler or a church in France that was set up as a makeshift hospital that treated you regardless of which side you fought for.

[@lillianmcgrew217]

I really like this story ❤❤

[@ernestdougherty3162]

Excellent video and excellent Topic at this time of the year thank you for sharing and may you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and God bless you

[@benkenobi4937]

Great music that added to the emotion. Great video.

[@Lee-mx5li]

Another great video, puts into perspective

[@tomtaylor6163]

I’m an American of English,Scottish and German descent. What a waste of life this War was

[@dislikecounter6392]

Sorry but this has to be one of he most beautiful stories in our species history.

[@nu43j3lly]

Myself and my family owe our lives to these brave men on both sides? I can never respect these men enough. Also men from ww2? I'm just wondering what these men and boys from Britain would think of their country in 2022?

[@nathanielcarreon5634]

Only political leaders have a personal agenda. Ordinary soldiers/citizens dont.

[@howardbealethemadprophetof3361]

All those politicians, banksters and corrupt bigoted entrepreneurs back then and today, are accountable. We are merely spare parts for their games.

[@adoe2305]

We are all the same.

[@comradesandwich9437]

Beautiful little doc. Really enjoyed the historians accounts. 🎄

[@oliverneufeld6401]

Frohe und friedliche Weihnachtszeit für alle Menschen !!!!

[@acharletta]

Excellent synopsis and analysis. 👍 MERRY CHRISTMAS!

[@alexandarvoncarsteinzarovi3723]

As someone who studied human history, this was perhaps the last time I had ever had hope for our species,

[@mith2946]

Oh please, don't be moronic. There has never been a better time to be alive, be thankful.

[@randomaccount3181]

Nah mith your wrong

[@TannerRayburn]

I mean, I would say it’s the second most memorable Christmas. There is a reason we have Christmas, so I think that’s the most memorable Christmas. Baby Jesus was born 🙏🏽

[@zillsburyy1]

A MIDNIGHT CLEAR comes to mind

[@whitestararmada103]

im from america and they didnt even teach about WW1 during school. had no idea something like this ever happened. =O

[@iammaximumstupied]

It depends on the teachers. Back when I was in elementary we were told about it but small. Unfortunately wasn't part of the test. It was a cool moment. As a kid at the time it was really more interesting to me than learning of the negative.

[@cameronwallis7024]

The nice bloke sitting in front of the piano looks like he stuffed some pillows under his jumper.

[@judgedread5835]

These are true gentleman

[@siroswaldfortitude409]

If WW1 had been settled by a Christmas football match, the Germans would have won it on penalties

[@SA-5247]

9 million more had to die before they realized how pointless it was..

[@georgejessop3246]

One of the most ingenious designs/ideas was the trench frame. picture the letter A inverted to support a plank walkway on the crossbar with the V bracing the sides of the trench and providing the frame for the climbing ladder to escape the trench or to step up to a higher shooting position. The lowest part of the V is the drainage canal for rain and excrement, pitched to lower ground or a drywell.

[@benjaminrush4443]

Real nice feature to watch during Christmas COVID Time on 24 Dec 2021. Thank you. Watch & Enjoy.

[@moodswinggaming2972]

The duality of mankind

[@antoniolim762]

The problem with wars is that both sides are right and in the end nobody wins...just a whole bunch of who survives after we exact enough loss and pain that we lose taste for it...and pause...it is the curse we are born with as humans...the one affliction we cannot vaccinate against. So instead of Merry Christmases and Happy Holidays...I would hope and wish for Peace Be With You and for Peace on Earth....no matter how short lived because if we stop and breathe the air of peace even in that fleeting moment...then perhaps we all can live longer meaningful lives hopefully with people we care about and remember that measure of peace as we too must go from this earth.

[@janewagner1601]

God Bless them all. Innocents made to fight.

[@user-ld1ys9cc9b]

Great spirit from Jesus Christ.

[@janverboven]

Humanity, the simple natural empathy, we should all feel, has won over difference for a few hours among small men who have no instinctive hatred. Those meetings where the real 'band of brothers'.

[@jeffthornton6998]

Unless they happened to be in the one area ofNo Mans Land without any dead bodies, craters, barb wire craters and unexplored ordnances; a soccer game is a bit unbelievable.

[@GreenManalichi]

Please make all your videos available for the Philippines

[@realism1019]

Men with a common goal. To survive.

[@christhier10]

that war was nothing but a feud between cousins and politicians. the people fighing never wanted to be there. soldiers do that til this day. they dont want to be there and if there were no soldiers we wouldnt have wars. but the money and benefits entice people. we should force leaders to fight

[@craigpennington1251]

If indeed this is true, why didn't both sides just quit > We're not fighting a stupid useless war any more. I say this under the guidance of history as it were. I was not there to witness such - thank God. I am a vet but hold no grudges against the enemy I fought against. They were following orders by their maniac leaders who couldn't understand peace. And ours, after the victory over Germany, marched those tried fighters 400 miles in arrogance after armistice. My grandfather died shortly thereafter and not because of a war wound. Stupidity at it's most high. Soldiers of WWI are all heros in my book without question.

[@janewagner1601]

Crying because they made friends and were human on both sides.

[@rosesprog1722]

And when the officers came back from home after Christmas the soldiers told them: Sir, the war is over sir, we won, 6-4 in overtime... care for some Schnapps sir?

[@howardbealethemadprophetof3361]

Not being a religious guy myself, but despite's that researchable facts are agains Her decadent Majesty's Opinion and Whim, Truth is that the then pope In Rome, Bennedict XV or so, called and insisted for a Truce during Christmas of that year. Honor and Respect where and to whom's due.

[@rafaelwilks]

BENEDICT XV APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION TO THE PEOPLES NOW AT WAR AND TO THEIR RULERS* When We, though all unworthy, were called to succeed on the Apostolic Throne the meek Pius X, whose life of holiness and well-doing was cut short by grief at the fratricidal struggle that had just burst forth in Europe, We, too, on turning a fearful glance on the blood-stained battlefields, felt the anguish of a father, who sees his homestead devastated and in ruins before the fury of the hurricane. And thinking with unspeakable regret of our young sons, who were being mown down by death in thousands, We opened Our heart, enlarged by the charity of Christ, to all the crushing sorrow of the mothers, and of the wives made widows before their time, and to all the inconsolable laments of the little ones, too early bereft of a father's care. Sharing in the anxious fears of innumerable families, and fully conscious of the imperative duties imposed upon Us by the sublime mission of peace and of love, entrusted to Our care in days of so much sadness, We conceived at once the firm purpose of consecrating all Our energy and all Our power to the reconciling of the peoples at war: indeed, We made it a solemn promise to Our Divine Saviour, Who willed to make all men brothers at the cost of His Blood. And Our first words, as the Chief Shepherd of souls, addressed to the Nations and their Rulers, were words of peace and of love. But Our advice, affectionate and insistent as that of a father and a friend, remained unheard. Our grief was aggravated, but Our purpose was unshaken; We turned, therefore, in all confidence to the Almighty, Who holds in His Hands the minds and hearts of subjects, as of Kings, begging of Him the cessation of the unprecedented scourge. We wished to associate all the faithful in Our fervent and humble prayer, and to make it the more efficacious, We arranged that it should be accompanied by works of Christian penance. But today, on the anniversary of the outbreak of the tremendous conflict, more intense is the desire of Our heart for the speedy conclusion of the war, still louder; is Our fatherly cry for peace. May this cry, prevailing over the dreadful clash of arms, reach unto the peoples who are now at war, and unto their Rulers, inclining both to milder and more serene views. In the holy name of God, in the name of our heavenly Father and Lord, by the Blessed Blood of Jesus, price of man's redemption, We conjure You, whom Divine Providence has placed over the Nations at war, to put an end at last to this horrible slaughter, which for a whole year has dishonoured Europe. It is the blood of brothers that is being poured out on land and sea. The most beautiful regions of Europe, this garden of the world, are sown with corpses and with ruin: there, where but a short time ago flourished the industry of manufactures and the fruitful labour of the fields, now thunders fearfully the cannon, and in its destructive fury it spares neither village nor city, but spreads everywhere havoc and death. You bear before God and man the tremendous responsibility of peace and war; give ear to Our prayer, to the fatherly voice of the Vicar of the Eternal and Supreme Judge, to Whom you must render an account as well of your public undertakings, as of your own individual deeds. The abounding wealth, with which God the Creator has enriched the lands that are subject to You, allow You to go on with the struggle; but at what cost? Let the thousands of young lives quenched every day on the fields of battle make answer: answer, the ruins of so many towns and villages, of so many monuments raised by the piety and genius of your ancestors. And the bitter tears shed in the secrecy of home, or at the foot of altars where suppliants beseech, do not these also repeat that the price of the long drawn-out struggle is great, too great? Nor let it be said that the immense conflict cannot be settled without the violence of war. Lay aside your mutual purpose of destruction; remember that Nations do not die; humbled and oppressed, they chafe under the yoke imposed upon them, preparing a renewal of the combat, and passing down from generation to generation a mournful heritage of hatred and revenge. Why not from this moment weigh with serene mind the rights and lawful aspirations of the peoples? Why not initiate with a good will an exchange of views, directly or indirectly, with the object of holding in due account, within the limits of possibility, those rights and aspirations, and thus succeed in putting an end to the monstrous struggle, as has been done under other similar circumstances? Blessed be he who will first raise the olive-branch, and hold out his right hand to the enemy with an offer of reasonable terms of peace. The equilibrium of the world, and the prosperity and assured tranquillity of Nations rest upon mutual benevolence and respect for the rights and the dignity of others, much more than upon hosts of armed men and the ring of formidable fortresses. This is the cry of peace which breaks forth from Our heart with added vehemence on this mournful day; and We invite all, whosoever are the friends of peace the world over, to give Us a helping hand in order to hasten the termination of the war, which for a long year has changed Europe into one vast battlefield. May the merciful Jesus, through the intercession of His Sorrowful Mother, grant that at last, after so horrible a storm, the dawn of peace may break, placid and radiant, an image of His own Divine Countenance. May hymns of thanksgiving soon rise to the Most High, the Giver of all good things, for the accomplished reconciliation of the States; may the peoples, bound in bonds of brotherly love, return to the peaceful rivalry of studies, of arts, of industries, and, with the empire of right reestablished, may they resolve from now henceforth to entrust the settlement of their differences, not to the sword's edge, but to reasons of equity and justice, pondered with due cairn and deliberation. This will be their most splendid and glorious conquest! In loving trust that the tree of peace may soon return to rejoice the world with such desirable fruits, We impart the Apostolic Benediction to all who make up the mystical flock confided to Us, and also for those, who do not yet belong to the Church of Rome, We pray the Lord to draw them close to Us in the bonds of perfect charity. Given at Rome, from the Vatican, 28 July 1915. BENEDICTUS PP. XV www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xv/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xv_exh_19150728_fummo-chiamati.html

[@dinahnicest6525]

This is one instance where I don't mind myth overshadowing truth.

[@lilpoisondart]

Imagine the amount of red cards in this game

[@ododargo]

hi that cracked me up just have a rummergibe around

[@michaelspencer2559]

Just something about humanity that makes me 😭

[@jaywinters2483]

This is a secular view on the significance of the meaning of Christ’s coming. They acted from their hearts and were forced slaves of their governments.

[@CakeMonster82]

The guy speaking @4:00 is irritating his talking cadence makes me want to smack him 😂😂😂😂

[@andyhowat4624]

The high command had to reassign these troops afterwards. They became friends and couldn't kill one another

[@mikecain6947]

What you attribute to General Haig I think was done by Arthur Currie.

[@rachaeldangelo1337]

True soldiers don't hate the enemy soldiers they're fighting they understand that the people on the other side are just doing their jobs and what is being commanded of them and have no choice but to be there just like your side and would rather be back home with family rather than fighting and killing each other

[@MrGoatFish10]

friends today, enemies tomorrow and then friends again.

[@buckin8969]

friends for 20 years then enemies again then friends again

[@anthonykology1728]

the Generals are always fighting the last war

[@leonardolanzara4486]

excuse me, just to be sure I well understood: was the Xmas truce limited to the british soldiers, or did also take place between French and German soldiers? thanks

[@billy_midnight]

Not sure about the French but Canada fired at the Germans and didn't take part.

[@arkansasstorm]

Like how joyeux noel shows, is that everyone was brought up to either hate the germans or vice versa.

[@AVKnecht]

Unknown truth about this night: There wasn't any hooliganism after the football game because the English didn't have any plastic chairs to throw.

[@williammaxwell1919]

Little or in truth, nothing of the trenches in WW1 are attributed to the NZ wars from 1845 to 1872... but the trenches of WW1 were based on Moari redoubts and trenches from the NZ "civil" war... with the addition of "decompression" spaces at turn in trench direction or at the required physical length of trench. He Toa, Aotearoa!

[@robbieallan6522]

Very cool it's just a shame they had to go back to fighting.

[@jangminlunkhongsai4890]

We must learn that it is to believe in God's plan that salvation and peace can be witnessed only by the birth of Jesus Christ the path to redemption. Merry Christmas to all.

[@metalrocker627]

War is so stupid and cruel.

[@gustavomedrano3628]

now you know why religion has been very important for thousands of years. religions have been copy, improved, evolved...

[@PeterMartyrVermigli_is_cool]

Denn also hat Gott die Welt geliebt, daß er seinen eingeborenen Sohn gab, auf daß jeder, der an ihn glaubt, nicht verloren gehe, sondern ewiges Leben habe. - Johannes 3:16

[@timcobos8954]

This show made me cry cuz we Mexicans don't get along with other Mexicans very well.

[@BLACKWOLF1REDEYES]

too tell you tuthe they sent us native first

[@michaeldemetriou1399]

The Christmas Truce showed how ridiculous the war was. Today men in Ukraine are intrenched in another ludicrous war.

[@janewagner1601]

Poppies for our Men forever in our debt

[@cynthiamartini8982]

Christmas is not the “festival of love”. It’s the celebration of Christ’s birth. This is how these men would have seen it. This would have been their shared culture (ie Christianity).

[@jaimeschmidt1264]

Theres no way. I wish.

[@James-yk9hz]

I just wish this whole war going on in Europe right now is going to end. There's no sense in it no sense in all of this why can't people just live and be happy why do people want other people unhappy it's not productive.

[@UnbannedAgain]

I think that guy is wrong, and cynical himself. It was a flourishing of the human spirit. The officers ordered men to kill afterwards, otherwise they would be punished. The letters of the men who were actually there tell a story of humanity.

[@brucemacarthur8758]

I don't know because I wasn't there but my thought was that some, I don't know how many, but some looked at the war from the eyes of Christ and they knew that no matter what men on both sides of No Man's Land would meet in God's Kingdom.

[@jordonsky]

What I heard German high ups pot Germans in the trench how hated the British after they heard they wear being friends with there enemy’s

[@samuelmmmk181]

Yeah, of course the Brit has had a trench wash 😅😂

[@dehsa38]

This happened, only, because the opponents were also once two tribes of the children of Israel.

[@howardbaxter2514]

indeed, this could only happen when it did for three reasons. One, WWI permitted soldiers to be within close quarters of each other at all times. You knew where they were. They knew where you were. There was no hiding that fact, only hiding the you as their target. Two, WWI and the horrors associated with it hadn't fully played out yet, and wouldn't begin until the following year. At that point, a truce is kind of out the window as there is no more of a desire to give a truce to the enemy that unleashed gas on you. And three, the religious similarities between all nations and the overall treatment of Christmas as a holy day. By and large, Catholics and Protestants understand the importance of the day of our savior's birth. Now, it is worth pointing that the Eastern Front had issues with timing since Russia was on the Julian and not the Gregorian Calendar at the time.

[@max-pl2cm]

That one guy looks like his body wanted to be thin but the torso said no lol I’m so confused

[@Phoenix411th]

imagine Ukraine an Russia did this

[@user-sw9xo3uv8d]

War is the worst human's invention

[@BLACKWOLF1REDEYES]

footbat cauase your down fall

[@brianallsopp69]

A totally unnecessary war ... some wars have to be fought but this could have been sorted out by politicians around a table and a few deals done ( why there had not been a major European war in a 100 years ,,,,)

[@nicknach]

this war saw the end of the monarchies and the beginning of the end of empires...

[@BLACKWOLF1REDEYES]

because we were savages

[@rafaelwilks]

BENEDICT XV APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION TO THE PEOPLES NOW AT WAR AND TO THEIR RULERS* When We, though all unworthy, were called to succeed on the Apostolic Throne the meek Pius X, whose life of holiness and well-doing was cut short by grief at the fratricidal struggle that had just burst forth in Europe, We, too, on turning a fearful glance on the blood-stained battlefields, felt the anguish of a father, who sees his homestead devastated and in ruins before the fury of the hurricane. And thinking with unspeakable regret of our young sons, who were being mown down by death in thousands, We opened Our heart, enlarged by the charity of Christ, to all the crushing sorrow of the mothers, and of the wives made widows before their time, and to all the inconsolable laments of the little ones, too early bereft of a father's care. Sharing in the anxious fears of innumerable families, and fully conscious of the imperative duties imposed upon Us by the sublime mission of peace and of love, entrusted to Our care in days of so much sadness, We conceived at once the firm purpose of consecrating all Our energy and all Our power to the reconciling of the peoples at war: indeed, We made it a solemn promise to Our Divine Saviour, Who willed to make all men brothers at the cost of His Blood. And Our first words, as the Chief Shepherd of souls, addressed to the Nations and their Rulers, were words of peace and of love. But Our advice, affectionate and insistent as that of a father and a friend, remained unheard. Our grief was aggravated, but Our purpose was unshaken; We turned, therefore, in all confidence to the Almighty, Who holds in His Hands the minds and hearts of subjects, as of Kings, begging of Him the cessation of the unprecedented scourge. We wished to associate all the faithful in Our fervent and humble prayer, and to make it the more efficacious, We arranged that it should be accompanied by works of Christian penance. But today, on the anniversary of the outbreak of the tremendous conflict, more intense is the desire of Our heart for the speedy conclusion of the war, still louder; is Our fatherly cry for peace. May this cry, prevailing over the dreadful clash of arms, reach unto the peoples who are now at war, and unto their Rulers, inclining both to milder and more serene views. In the holy name of God, in the name of our heavenly Father and Lord, by the Blessed Blood of Jesus, price of man's redemption, We conjure You, whom Divine Providence has placed over the Nations at war, to put an end at last to this horrible slaughter, which for a whole year has dishonoured Europe. It is the blood of brothers that is being poured out on land and sea. The most beautiful regions of Europe, this garden of the world, are sown with corpses and with ruin: there, where but a short time ago flourished the industry of manufactures and the fruitful labour of the fields, now thunders fearfully the cannon, and in its destructive fury it spares neither village nor city, but spreads everywhere havoc and death. You bear before God and man the tremendous responsibility of peace and war; give ear to Our prayer, to the fatherly voice of the Vicar of the Eternal and Supreme Judge, to Whom you must render an account as well of your public undertakings, as of your own individual deeds. The abounding wealth, with which God the Creator has enriched the lands that are subject to You, allow You to go on with the struggle; but at what cost? Let the thousands of young lives quenched every day on the fields of battle make answer: answer, the ruins of so many towns and villages, of so many monuments raised by the piety and genius of your ancestors. And the bitter tears shed in the secrecy of home, or at the foot of altars where suppliants beseech, do not these also repeat that the price of the long drawn-out struggle is great, too great? Nor let it be said that the immense conflict cannot be settled without the violence of war. Lay aside your mutual purpose of destruction; remember that Nations do not die; humbled and oppressed, they chafe under the yoke imposed upon them, preparing a renewal of the combat, and passing down from generation to generation a mournful heritage of hatred and revenge. Why not from this moment weigh with serene mind the rights and lawful aspirations of the peoples? Why not initiate with a good will an exchange of views, directly or indirectly, with the object of holding in due account, within the limits of possibility, those rights and aspirations, and thus succeed in putting an end to the monstrous struggle, as has been done under other similar circumstances? Blessed be he who will first raise the olive-branch, and hold out his right hand to the enemy with an offer of reasonable terms of peace. The equilibrium of the world, and the prosperity and assured tranquillity of Nations rest upon mutual benevolence and respect for the rights and the dignity of others, much more than upon hosts of armed men and the ring of formidable fortresses. This is the cry of peace which breaks forth from Our heart with added vehemence on this mournful day; and We invite all, whosoever are the friends of peace the world over, to give Us a helping hand in order to hasten the termination of the war, which for a long year has changed Europe into one vast battlefield. May the merciful Jesus, through the intercession of His Sorrowful Mother, grant that at last, after so horrible a storm, the dawn of peace may break, placid and radiant, an image of His own Divine Countenance. May hymns of thanksgiving soon rise to the Most High, the Giver of all good things, for the accomplished reconciliation of the States; may the peoples, bound in bonds of brotherly love, return to the peaceful rivalry of studies, of arts, of industries, and, with the empire of right reestablished, may they resolve from now henceforth to entrust the settlement of their differences, not to the sword's edge, but to reasons of equity and justice, pondered with due cairn and deliberation. This will be their most splendid and glorious conquest! In loving trust that the tree of peace may soon return to rejoice the world with such desirable fruits, We impart the Apostolic Benediction to all who make up the mystical flock confided to Us, and also for those, who do not yet belong to the Church of Rome, We pray the Lord to draw them close to Us in the bonds of perfect charity. Given at Rome, from the Vatican, 28 July 1915. BENEDICTUS PP. XV www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xv/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xv_exh_19150728_fummo-chiamati.html

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“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. -(John 3:16)